Context: During the discussion, a student explained the procedural aspects of her Bat Mitzvah–a Jewish coming-of-age celebration marking the transition into adulthood.

Text:

“There’s a part of it where–I don’t know if there’s a specific name for it, I just kind of call it the candle ceremony–you get to the process of lighting 13 candles, and it’s supposed to represent people close to you. With every candle, you’re supposed to invite up a person or multiple people that mean something to you. You invite each person up, and you give, kind of like a little anecdote of, like, why you’re inviting them up.

So I had my different friends, my parents, my grandparents, my cousins, and people I grew up with. They come up and each lights the candle with you.”

Analysis:

I have never heard the details of Bat Mitzvahs and found this particular part of the ceremony heart-warming. The practice itself is very precious and important to many of my Jewish friends as well, and it reminds me of similar occasions, such as weddings. My classmate explained that this is part of the ceremony and that there’s a party that follows — very similar to weddings, where they officially get married before the reception. I think that these rituals marking phases in people’s lives are really interesting, and it’s really interesting to see how families come together to celebrate these milestones at certain age points.